Manitoba Conservation searches for orphaned bear cubs

Manitoba Conservation officials searched a woodeded area for two orphan bear cubs Saturday, in hopes of saving their lives.

Saturday morning Cathie Mieyette found two black bear cubs whimpering and tugging at the body of their mother on Highway 313 just east Lac du Bonnet.

“It was really loud,” said Mieyette.

Mieyette said the mother bear had been struck by a car, and her two cubs looked as if they were trying to move her.

“They would back off a bit and come back onto the road,” said Mieyette.

So Mieyette stopped her car and tried to make sure the cubs wouldn’t get hit by passing vehicles.

Soon after two other women, Amber Lutz and Joanne Dhingra, stopped to help direct traffic.

But soon after, the cubs disappeared.

“We lost sight of them,” said Lutz. “A lot of people were gathering. Twenty minutes later, they crossed the highway and went over there,” continued Lutz, motioning to a wooded area.

Mieyette said she was immediately reminded of Makoon – another orphaned baby bear who was rescued and then released into the wild by provincial officials, despite a petition to send him to a bear sanctuary.

The three women said in light of what happened to Makoon, they decided not to call Manitoba Conservation.

“I wanted to see them rescued and rehabilitated where they have an excellent chance of surviving,” said Lutz.

But soon after, Conservation officials arrived anyway.

Brent Tessier of Manitoba Conservation said rehabilitation isn’t part of their policy.

“If we can find them, the best case scenario is they’re in a tree. We’re going to tranquilize them and relocate them into a non-urban area,” said Tessier.

When

Conservation officials moved the mother bear’s carcass off of the road when they arrived and then began searching for the cubs Saturday afternoon.

A preliminary search turned up nothing.

Tessier said that since the cubs spent time out of their den, they may have learned vital survival skills, so their chances of survival are fairly high.

Photos

Three women who stopped to help two orphaned bear cubs near Lac Du Bonnet called Manitoba Conservation.